Johari Ghani: Some firms still pay TVET graduates like foreign workers despite minimum wage increase

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani during the committee-stage debate on the Supply Bill at Parliament in Kuala Lumpur on November 2, 2026. — Bernama pic

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

First Published: Monday, 02 Nov 2026 12:59 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Some Malaysian firms remain reluctant to pay local vocational graduates decent wages, often offering them salaries equivalent to those of foreign workers despite recent increases to the national minimum wage, Parliament was told this morning.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said this reflected a broader unwillingness among businesses to move away from relying on cheap foreign labour as a core business model, even as policymakers introduce incentives and impose quotas to encourage companies to innovate.

“Unfortunately, some of these companies want to pay these TVET (technical and vocational education and training) graduates at the rate of foreign workers,” he said during Question Time.

“When we increased our minimum salary to RM1,700, it still wasn’t enough. Why? Because they pay those with TVET qualifications or these TVET students the same salary as foreign workers,” he added.

Malaysia has produced around 400,000 local TVET graduates in an effort to curb the nation's reliance on migrant labour, but many established domestic firms continue to offer starting salaries at the statutory minimum wage of RM1,700 a month, regardless of technical qualifications.

While migrant workers often receive employer-provided accommodation, Johari said local technicians with TVET qualifications are paid equivalent basic wages but have to cover their own rental expenses.

He acknowledged that poor policies were partly to blame.

“On top of that, they place them inside foreign worker housing areas, yet they have to pay rent outside of those accommodation areas,” he said.